Sustainability
The Biomass Program is committed to developing biofuels that create a smaller environmental footprint than conventional fuels throughout their lifecycle-from biomass production to end use in vehicles. With our research partners, we are developing the resources, technologies, and systems needed to sustainably produce, harvest, transport, and convert a variety of biomass feedstocks. We honor our commitment to sustainability through our efforts to:
- Improve understanding of regional climates, soil types, land use, and water issues as they relate to feedstock production
- Support the development of diverse, non-food feedstocks that require less water and fertilizer than conventional feedstocks
- Develop technology to efficiently harvest biomass while maintaining soil nutrients and limiting erosion
- Foster sustainable forestry practices to enhance forest health
- Evaluate environmental impacts of emerging biomass conversion technology and biofuel delivery infrastructure
- Determine life-cycle impacts of a major scale-up in biofuels production, from feedstocks to end-use in vehicles, addressing:
- land use, habitat preservation, and soil health
- water use and quality
- air quality
- impacts on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- Understand the relationship between bioenergy production and all aspects of sustainability, including economic, social, and environmental issues
Our Vision
A viable, sustainable, domestic biofuels industry that:
- Produces renewable biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower
- Enhances U.S. energy security
- Reduces our dependence on oil
- Provides environmental benefits, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions
- Creates economic opportunities across the nation
Current Program Activities
Water - Performing comparative life-cycle analyses (LCA) of water requirements for the production of advanced biofuels, corn ethanol, sugar cane ethanol, and competing petroleum fuels
Feedstock production - Conducting in-field studies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Sun Grant Initiative universities, and other regional partners to determine the best locations for energy crops; developing tool to identify the amount of corn stover that should be left on the field to maintain healthy soil
Indirect land use - Developing quantitative models of international land use changes associated with increased biofuels production to be included in life-cycle analyses
Biodiversity - Working with Conservation International to:
- Identify land that should not be developed into biofuel crops
- Conduct pilot studies to identify the best lands for biofuel crop production
- Employ standards for biofuel crop production to maintain biodiversity